After the patriots defeated the British at Saratoga—thanks to Kosciuszko—, the French openly took our side against their rivals, sending a fleet with an army under the command of Lieutenant General Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau. They landed in Newport, RI, but the British blocked their fleet from leaving. The troops camped in Providence, and then marched west, stopping in Cranston, RI, Lebanon & Hartford, CT, before eventually joining Washington’s army near White Plains, NY in the Hudson Valley. They camped together for the winter in Morristown, NJ. Then they marched south, past Washington’s early victories in Princeton and Trenton, NJ, before arriving to parade before Congress in Philadelphia.

From there, their plans became secret. Most expected the joint force to attack New York. But General Baron von Steuben had recommended using both land and sea forces to trap the British army in Virginia, and both Washington and Rochambeau agreed. They marched together through Wilmington, DE, to Maryland, where they split up. The French sent their fleet south from Newport, and the British sent their fleet from New York. But Rochambeau had picked Virginia to take advantage of a second French fleet arriving from the West Indies. Boats were also launched from the north end of the Chesapeake Bay to ferry French troops safely and quietly to Virginia. Washington’s troops quickly marched past his home in Virginia and through Fredericksburg—later a Civil War site—before joining his friend General Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, who knew nothing of the plan.

Lafayette had come to America at age 19 with his own funds to join Washington long before France did, and he fought bravely, winning crucial battles and getting wounded. He had returned to France to encourage them to attack England, was briefly arrested for disobeying the King, and returned to continue fighting. When the French finally sent troops, Lafayette recommended various aggressive plans to Rochambeau to retake New York, but Rochambeau was cautious and dismissive. Washington counseled patience and sent Lafayette south to Virginia to capture the traitor Benedict Arnold, whose victory on the American side at Saratoga ironically had convinced the French to ally with the Americans. Lafayette was frustrated at being sent so far from all the action, not knowing Washington had plans for the young general.

The British had invaded Virginia (second time), coming up from near Moore’s Creek in North Carolina, had taken Petersburg (also Civil War) that spring and under Benedict Arnold that summer had taken and burned Richmond (see Civil War). Cornwallis took command and decided to establish his base in Yorktown (again Civil War) on the coast. Arnold advised Cornwallis to move inland for safety, Cornwallis ignored the advice and sent Arnold to Connecticut, where he burned New London.

The French Chesapeake fleet landed their 9,000 troops at the York River to join Washington’s 9,000 troops on the peninsula and trap Cornwallis. The combined French fleets defeated and blocked the British fleet at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. Lafayette led the siege at Yorktown—with Alexander Hamilton leading a critical assault (see photo). Cornwallis, surrounded and cut off from relief or escape by sea, surrendered. We would not have won this critical battle of our Independence War without our French allies, especially their fleets, their siege tactics and the element of surprise. After the war ended 2 years later, the French sailed back from Boston. A worthy trail indeed.

Incidentally, Benedict Arnold fled to England after hearing about the surrender at Yorktown. Arnold, after failing to convince the British to keep fighting, became a pirate in the Caribbean, was captured by the French, bribed the guards to escape and was rewarded by the British with 15,000 acres near Ontario, Canada, where he died at 60.

For the record, the rock-paper-scissors game ‘Rochambeau’ is mis-transliterated from the Japanese ‘Jan-Ken-Pon’ game adapted from the 2200 year old Chinese game ‘Shoushiling’.